So.. Broke my epicon last week

I was riding pretty hard.. Stem came loose on a jump, went over the bars into a tree and rolled into a ditch.. I don't know what happened to the bike but the rebound bolt broke off lol.. Its getting sent back through Amazon for a refund. Now what? I can just wheelie through the trails lol

I bought it on Amazon but I didn't know I was buying the Chinese gray market because it said it had a warranty.. So amazon agreed to refund me because the seller lied. I even paid for the expedited shipping to get it in 2 days and it showed up on 2 weeks from China.

I have a trek liquid. 26" fs. I ride pretty hard, mostly technical trails with jumps and some drops. I was looking on ebay and stuff for a recon but finding a straight tube with 9qr isn't easy. I don't want to spend a ton maybe 300 or so, but it depends

The stem came loose. Amazon is selling gray market epicons. It's pretty well known. I've spoken to suntour about this. The ad I bought it from advertised it as a USA model, shipped from the USA, with a 2 year USA warranty. New in box, manuals, etc. I paid 20 bucks for 2 day shipping. I received it in 2 weeks direct from China, wrapped in packing tape, looking like a sex paddle. It has no warranty. So I am getting refunded by the seller, who lied in his listing.

I had no complaints with the fork.. I actually really liked it, but had I known it was the Chinese version, I would have paid less and bought direct from China knowingly. Suntour said that they can't vouch for their quality control, and said that they may not even use the same parts as the suntour North America forks use. and that's totally understandable. Suntour North America is not refunding me, nor is amazon. So I don't see the issue. The seller lied, thats all there is to it, broken or not. I wouldn't go through the hassle of returning it and buying another one from China for the 60 dollar difference I paid, but had I known I would have paid 60 less. So be careful when you order stuff online you never know what you're going to get.

I understand not wanting to buy from the people who probably made the fork since Epicon is Suntour and their headquarters is in China along with their factory. Go figure. This doesn't mean that the fork was gray market or not. I think the only way to know is to contact Suntour and ask them. I imagine they would be quite interested to find out if Amazon is selling retail gray market. I apologize if this is common knowledge.

But you are saying that the stem, not the steerer tube, came loose. If it was the steerer tube then that is a definite fork issue and I think people who own the fork need to know about a safety issue.

I'm glad you were not hurt. But if it was the stem that came lose, I'm less pleased that Amazon and/or Suntour will have to defray the costs of the fork to the rest of their customers.

Stem came loose.. I was about 3 miles into a ride did a few jumps and came to a log pile, went to jump it but the wheel went sideways, went over the bars... It wasn't a fork malfunction, directly. Continuing my ride and the fork started clanking. I took it apart when I got home and found that the rebound rod had broken inside the fork. Dunno how that happened, but whatever.

Anyways, i don't want to buy a new front wheel so I'm looking for a straight tube 1 1/8 fork for 9qr hubs. Maybe a recon gold or something else, maybe just another epicon this time from China knowingly lol

I installed the stem and it was tight but the bolts may have stretched just enough? I'll be replacing them though. I should check it more regularly...

Anyways regardless I was asking for fork advice.. If anyone had any opinions on forks or know of any deals. Looking for a straight tube with a 9qr is getting difficult but I'm not against swapping out the front hub for a 15mm XT or something depending on the fork.

I'd blame the guy who installed the stem as that is what caused the problem. The fork is just a casualty of the crash and is not to blame. Whether gray market or "white" market, the fork is not to blame.

I'd blame the guy who installed the stem as that is what caused the problem. The fork is just a casualty of the crash and is not to blame. Whether gray market or "white" market, the fork is not to blame.

This. This is why torque specifications are printed on most stems these days.

If the stem came loose when torqued correctly either the torque wrench is bad or something failed, like bolts stripped or snapped.

I have the R7 on one bike, which the M30 is based on. M30 is a relatively lightweight and smooth budget XC fork, and I wouldn't choose it for jumps and drops. The Marvel is a stronger fork, I have the Match which is kind of the budget version with steel stanchions and coil spring, good fork but if you're doing big enough jumps and drops then it's probably better to go with a through axle. I've never ridden an Epicon so unfortunately I can't compare them.

I haven't fork shopped in a while.. I'm thinking to just get another epicon. Its hard out there, trying to find a straight steerer tube. I'll swap a front hub for the right deal, but I'm not gonna get rid of my frame. Hopefully my fat bike comes soon so I'll have something to ride.

Plenty of decent forks available with straight/9mm qr. Especially manitou, I just bought a marvel, great fork.

But if ur getting that crazy on xc forks, ur going to break stuff and that crash damage isn't a warranty issue, especially with improper installation/maintenance. Xc forks aren't meant for that kind of constant abuse. They'll put up with plenty but too much of that and things break. Not made like things used to be lol.

If the rebound rod broke why not source another one? Usually get parts to repair things if lowers or uppers aren't damaged.
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I was riding pretty hard.. Stem came loose on a jump, went over the bars into a tree and rolled into a ditch.. I don't know what happened to the bike but the rebound bolt broke off lol.. Its getting sent back through Amazon for a refund. Now what? I can just wheelie through the trails lol

Did you consider buying replacement parts? The fork is fully serviceable and current diagrams are easily found online.

I tend to believe that Suntour NorthAmerica is overblowing the quality issues of the chinese forks in order to sell them at full price. Even the suntour loyalty program upgrade price is more expensive than buying from chinese vendors. With the huge numbers these are being sold in, they cant all be factory seconds prototypes and test models.